Instagram Photographers Descend on the White House: Here Are Our Favorites

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- More than 1,500 amateur and professional photographers applied but only about two dozen were selected by the White House to participate in a day of shooting on its grounds.

It was all part of the White House's participation in a "Worldwide InstaMeet," a social media event hosted by Instagram a few times each year where people meet in specific places to "connect, take photos together and inspire one another," the photo-sharing company says.

This was not the only time the administration had done an Instagram event: It once gave special access to its gardens and kitchen for a smaller domestic InstaMeet in 2013. Similarly it was used by the National Park Service when the Washington Monument was reopened and by the National Zoo to introduce its baby panda, Bao Bao. But this year was a first for participation in a world-scale meet.

Here are some of our favorites from the shoot, but more can be found by following the "#WHInstaMeet" hashtag on Twitter or Instagram.

No photo tour of the White House would be complete without a massive group selfie with Pete Souza, the official White House photographer for President Obama. He is kneeling in the red, striped shirt.

The rooms of the White House complex hold a motley mix of styling from the ornate to the simple and efficient. We like the contrast shown in these next photos.

The photographers were able to see a level of detail to the history of the building that is seldom seen by the public, like this blessing from the second President of the United States.

This stood out because for all the opulence, the aging White House grounds require constant care. Some of these normally unseen workers have serviced the building for multiple presidents.

And last: The "Ardy" is the name of a Radio Disney music award (carried in by its photographer.) We think the tuxedo fits the setting.